Managed payroll, checked before it's paid.
Award interpretation, pay runs, STP and super handled in your existing payroll software. A specialist checks each run, and you approve it before anything is paid.
The short answer
Managed payroll is the end-to-end running of a business’s pay runs — calculating wages, PAYG withholding and superannuation, interpreting the relevant Modern Award, lodging Single Touch Payroll with the ATO and issuing payslips. Valont delivers it as the payroll function within your finance hub, one part of a wider connected back office, with a specialist checking each pay run before you approve it.
Managed payroll at a glance
Scope and fee confirmed in writing before the first run- What a pay run covers
- Timesheet and roster review, Award rates, penalties, allowances, overtime and deductions, leave accruals, PAYG withholding, superannuation, Single Touch Payroll lodgement and payslips — on your existing pay cycle, weekly, fortnightly or monthly. New starters, terminations and year-end STP finalisation are part of the service.
- Awards: who does what
- Managed payroll applies your Modern Awards to each pay run and keeps the rates current after each 1 July review; the onboarding audit checks existing classifications against the award. Deciding which award and classification a role falls under, employment contracts and broader workplace advice sit with the People hub’s award compliance and HR & IR advisory. Engage both and the same team works from one employee record.
- Approvals
- You supply hours, new starters and changes, and approve each pay run from a plain summary before anything is paid, lodged or sent. Correct input — hours worked, roles, changes — remains your responsibility; interpreting the award and calculating the pay is ours.
- Software
- We work in your existing payroll platform — Xero Payroll, KeyPay, Employment Hero and most major systems — and configure it for your awards. No migration unless the current setup can’t support your awards properly.
- Exceptions
- Routine calculations run in the software. Anything the rules can’t settle — an unusual shift pattern, a termination payment, a back-pay calculation, a classification question — is routed to a payroll specialist before the run reaches you. Where a question needs the employer’s call, we ask rather than assume.
- What sets the fee
- One fixed monthly fee, quoted per engagement after a discovery conversation. It moves with headcount, the complexity of your awards and rosters, the scope you take (payroll alone, or with bookkeeping and BAS) and which hubs you engage. No hourly charges on top — see how fees work.
Not sure which award covers your team? Use the Award Finder or read our Modern Award guides. Comparing providers? See our guide to the best payroll outsourcing providers in Australia, Valont included.
The Reality
Payroll is the task most business owners dread.
It's not just pressing a button --- it's interpreting Modern Awards, calculating penalty rates for different shift patterns, tracking leave accruals, managing super contributions, lodging STP, and hoping you haven't missed a rate change that the Fair Work Commission published three weeks ago.
Get it wrong and you're facing underpayment claims, penalties, and reputational damage. Get it right and nobody notices --- which is exactly the point.
Without specialist review:
- Underpayment due to misinterpreting Modern Awards
- Missed Award rate changes and annual wage reviews
- Incorrect penalty rates for shifts or time of day
- Leave entitlements tracked incorrectly or forgotten
- Superannuation errors and missed payment dates
- STP compliance issues missed until ATO audit
- Underpayment claims that can cost thousands per employee
What's Included
What managed payroll covers, every pay cycle.
Pay run processing
Complete end-to-end payroll: timesheet review, Award rate calculation, penalty rates, allowances, overtime, deductions. Every pay run reviewed by a specialist.
Learn more →STP lodgement
Single Touch Payroll reported to the ATO with each pay run, under STP Phase 2. STP finalisation at year-end.
Learn more →Superannuation
Super calculated at the current Superannuation Guarantee rate and submitted to employee-nominated funds via a compliant clearing house --- each pay run under Payday Super from 1 July 2026.
Learn more →Award rate management
Ongoing monitoring of Modern Award rate changes. Annual wage review adjustments applied from the effective date. Interim variations tracked and implemented.
Learn more →Leave management
Tracking and calculation of all leave entitlements: annual, personal, long service (state-specific rules), parental, compassionate, and Award-specific types.
Learn more →Employee onboarding
New employee payroll setup: TFN declaration, super choice, Award classification, pay rate configuration, and system access. Set up before the first pay run, not patched afterwards.
Learn more →The Process
From payroll audit to approved pay run in four steps.
Payroll audit & setup
We audit your current payroll during onboarding --- classifications, rates, leave balances, and Award compliance. Any errors are corrected.
Historical corrections
Any identified errors are corrected, including back-pay calculations if required, so ongoing pay runs start from a corrected baseline.
Ongoing pay run processing
Each pay cycle, timesheets are processed, Awards are applied, and a specialist reviews the pay run for accuracy and compliance.
Approval & distribution
You receive the pay run for approval with a clear summary. Once approved, payslips are distributed, STP is lodged, and super is queued.
Who It's For
Any Australian business with employees, especially where the awards get complicated.
Any business with employees
Payroll obligations arrive with the first hire; managed payroll takes on the running of them
Complex Awards
Hospitality, healthcare, retail, construction with multiple rate types
Casual-heavy
Businesses with significant casual workforce complexity
Compliance-focused
Businesses wanting specialist Award compliance and underpayment risk managed down
Cross-Hub Integration
Payroll sits in Finance. The employment side sits in People. Same team, one record.
Managed payroll sits within the Finance Hub because it is a financial process --- usually your largest recurring outgoing, feeding cash flow, BAS and the management reports. Applying your awards to each pay run is part of it. The People Hub carries the employment side: confirming which award and classification applies to each role, contracts and workplace advice. Engage payroll on its own and you get the pay runs; engage both and a classification decision made in People flows straight into the next pay run.
Try it yourself
FreeFree interactive tools to help you understand where you stand right now.
Payroll Tax Calculator
Calculate your state-based payroll tax obligations across all Australian states and territories. Instant results.
Try it nowAnnual Leave Liability Calculator
See the true cost of accrued annual leave on your balance sheet and cash flow. Most businesses underestimate this.
Try it nowBy state
Payroll by state
Payroll tax is administered state by state — see the specifics for yours.
The honest AI answer
Can AI keep your payroll compliant?
Australian payroll is an award-compliance problem before it is a processing problem — and that is exactly where AI checking helps most, under human accountability. ChatGPT and Claude stay on the understanding side of the line:
Ready to hand payroll to someone who checks it?
Talk to a Finance Advisor. We'll audit your current payroll, set out what's included and quote a fixed monthly fee for your business.